Sail ex-UK with Oceania Cruises in 2011

Following her debut in January, Oceania Cruises’ first new-build luxury cruise ship Marina will offer two ex-UK cruises in summer 2011 as part of her inaugural European cruise season, before returning to her current winter destination of the Caribbean for winter 2011/12. The company will offer a further three ex-UK cruises, from Dover and Greenwich, on board their two mid-sized luxury cruise ships Regatta and Insignia.

Regatta will cruise a 12-night sailing from Greenwich through the North Sea to call into ports along Norway’s west coast and down to Copenhagen, with fares from £2,421pp, departing on June 11.

Insignia sails from Dover on July 11 and August 8, offering cruises to ports in Belgium, Holland, the Baltic States, Russia and Scandinavia, with fares from £2,790pp.

The beautifully appointed 1,250-guest Marina will sail from Dover on July 15 on her 14-night 'Northern Knights' round-trip cruise off the coast of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, also calling into Norway, the Shetland Islands and the Isle of Man, with fares from £3,102pp.

Marina's second ex-UK ‘no-fly’ departure, on July 29, leaves Dover for Amsterdam, Bruges and a cruise of France's Atlantic west coast, down to Santander in Spain and returning to Dover 12 nights later. Fares are currently on special offer from just £1,199pp, including a saving of up to 50%, PLUS $1,000 onboard credit per stateroom.

Oceania Cruises voyages include all meals (including speciality restaurants), complimentary soft drinks and bottled water.

To find out more, visit http://www.oceaniacruises.co.uk/ or contact the luxury-cruise agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

New Brochure from Swan Hellenic

By guest blogger Steve Newman

The winter 2011-2012 season brochures are going on sale now and Swan Hellenic’s latest features cruises throughout northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Black Sea, North Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Following particularly successful sales for Far East cruises this year, the cruise line will return to the region in late 2011 with ports of call throughout India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Indonesia and the Philippines , including a return to Yangon in Myanmar.

New ports, all accessible only by smaller ships like Swan Hellenic's Minerva, featured in the brochure across Europe, Asia and Middle East include the wildlife conservation reserve of Sir Bani Yas island in the United Arab Emirates, the Vietnamese coastal city of Qui Nhon, and the French fishing town of Port Vendres close to the Spanish border. The 320-guest ship (above) is also small enough to transit the Corinth Canal in Greece, the Kiel Canal in Germany, the Yangon River in Myanmar and the Saigon River in Vietnam.

One of the highlights is an insight into the tribes, religions and cultures of Indonesia and South East Asia, with a 22-day ‘East of Java’ cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong and ports of call that Semarang in Java, Bali, Lombok, Komodo, Sandakan in Malaysia for a visit to an orangutan sanctuary, and Manila in the Philippines, before arriving in Hong Kong. Prices are from £3,345 per person for a 22-day fly-cruise in January 2012.

Brochures can also be viewed online at www.swanhellenic.com/2012brochure.

Swan Hellenic will be exhibiting at the Cruise Show in Birmingham on October 16-17. and at London's Olympia on March 26-27 2011.

Europe Or Bust!

The charge is on - and European waters may never be the same again!

That is to say, there will be more ships in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas than ever before, and the cruise menu will be bulging at the rivets with possibilities for April-October 2011.

For reasons that even the cruise industry seems to be struggling to explain (although it may have something to do with lower port duties and fees in many of the ports, as opposed to Alaska), there will be an absolute plethora of maritime options throughout Europe next year.

As if the high numbers and record-breaking volume of the cruise capacity in 2010 isn't enough, many lines are going a step further in 12 months' time. And it is not just the mass-market operators - everyone is at it, including upmarket companies like Oceania Cruises and the Yachts of Seabourn.

One by one, from Princess to NCL to Holland America to Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, the lines have announced increased capacity, more ports of call and enhanced itineraries. It is not so much a rush as an ocean-going stampede - and the cruise customer stands to benefit enormously.

There are already some handsomely attractive advance deals (like Oceania offering two-for-one pricing), and they could well become the norm in the coming months as this year fills up and people start to look at 2011.

Here's how the 'big boys' of the cruise business are shaping up:

Princess Cruises: 7 ships, with 106 itineraries, 42 of which are brand new.

Celebrity Cruises: 3 of their Solstice-class vessels will be in Europe for the first time

NCL: 3 ships, based uniquely in Copenhagen (Norwegian Sun), Barcelona (the new Norwegian Epic) and Venice (Norwegian Jade).

Royal Caribbean: a stunning 10 ships, visiting 78 ports on 109 different itineraries.

Holland America: 7 ships - including 2 of their largest Signature-class - offering 15 maiden ports of call and 16 overnight ports.

And that is before you consider the 'resident' European specialists like P&O, Fred. Olsen, Costa, MSC Cruises and Thomson.

It is an amazing line-up of cruise-going hardware - in excess of 60 vessels all featuring European itineraries - and it all serves to underline, yet again, that the best holiday choice remains a cruise choice.

Or, in the words of a famous politician, You've never had it so good. Or so varied!